Another Missing Memory
by Charli Fox
Summary: JI eventually, & SV. Just who else did Sydney kill during her missing 2 years...? Chapter Nine "Bitterness" is up.
1. Confusion

Disclaimer: Alias, unfortunately, does not belong to me,  
  
Note: This is actually the third Alias fanfic I've done, the first two I might end up putting on here at some point in the future.

**Another Missing Memory  
**  
**Chapter One**  
  
It had been fairly easy to gain access to the beautiful manor house; her target was becoming too lax in the security department. Sydney thought back on the past week. So many times it would have been easy to finish the job, instead of waiting until now. For some reason the Covenant had told her to hold off, she didn't question them. 'Julia' didn't question them. There was a long silver mirror that hung the length of the pale blue wall, the inside of the bedroom that she was moving toward reflected in the glass. Her heart pounded and she stopped quickly upon hearing footsteps heading in her direction. Julia hurriedly surveyed her surroundings for a place to hide; and found none. She berated herself for not being more careful and for acting cocky when she thought this would be a quick in and out. The blonde listened carefully and heard only one set of footsteps; she could handle whatever came around the corner no problem.  
  
Julia stepped swiftly across the corridor and pressed her back against the wall, she glanced to the right and saw he would be opponent out of the corner of her eyes. Quick as a flash her leg shot out to knock him off balance, the muscular 6ft something guy called out in surprise and toppled backwards, falling against the wall where he regained his balance enough to block a left hook. He countered with a double punch aimed at her face; each of Julia's hand grabbed a wrist and twisted them outwards. His pale face twisted into a grimace, pain shooting up each arm.  
She kneed him viciously in the stomach and he doubled over, he may have been strong but he had no technique, and his movements slow. Taking an ornament from a nearby corner table she smashed it over the back of his head; her opponent fell to the hardwood floor and stayed there, shards of porcelain littered the floor.  
  
Julia walked passed him, fully alert and ready for another attack. Her mark had to have heard her; the fight couldn't possibly have gone unnoticed. She tiptoed towards the door, which was partially ajar; she pushed it open with the gun that was now aimed in the direction of the room. The young woman listened out for a sign that there was another presence there; a shadow crossed her line of vision and Julia wasted no time in following "you had to have known this was coming" she called out. "Why prolong the inevitable?" she asked a clichéd question. Julia didn't see the kick aimed at her outstretched arms so the gun flew from her grasp, then she spun to face her attacker.  
  
****

**Los Angeles  
**  
Sydney shot upright in her bed; the sheets were tangled around her like she had been struggling in her sleep. She ran her hand over her face; her breathing was starting to slow down and even out. A hand slid across her waist and moved to stroke her stomach; Sydney glanced down at Vaughn's face.

His eyes were only partly open, still half asleep. "Are you okay?"  
  
A fake smile appeared to accompany the half-hearted nod that she shot his way. "Just a stupid dream" she settled back down and straightened out the streets. Vaughn was watching her closely; Sydney looked across at him and laughed at his half awake, concerned and confused look. "We have to get up in a couple of hours" she told him through yawns.  
  
"Who is Roger Ashford?"  
  
Sydney shook her head and her brow furrowed at his out of the blue question. "I don't know, why do you ask?" she closed her eyes again, trying to find rest.  
  
"You called out his name in your sleep" he responded. He was now more awake and her eyes shot open to meet his questioning gaze "right before you woke up."  
  
Sydney stared at the wall and focused on a spot in the corner as though that might clue her in. "I don't know," she repeated.  
  
****

**CIA Operations Center  
**  
"I only remember Ashford because the CIA had me do some background research on him, they didn't say why and I thought it was a waste of time" Sydney was sat on a chair beside Will Tippin, her ex-reporter friend. He had returned to LA a few months ago, the CIA had rehired him on a temporary basis, at least it was supposed to be temporary. Will wasn't complaining, he had a steady income with his new job and he got to see Sydney everyday. He had missed the daily banter they used to have.  
  
Sydney read the information on the screen, the picture of the man; Roger Ashford, was new to her, she had never seen him before in her life. "Why was it a waste of time?"  
  
Will scrolled down the page so his friend could continue reading. "The guy died, like, two years ago. The TOD isn't exact but roughly it was two years ago."  
  
She tore her eyes away from the screen. "How did he die?"  
  
Will pushed back from the screen and swiveled the chair to face her. He shrugged "I don't know, it doesn't say" he reached towards the desk again and closed the page. "Hey, are you okay?" he leaned forward in the chair.  
  
She smiled at him warmly and looked reassuring. "I'm fine, I just wanted to check up on something."  
  
He didn't look entirely convinced and wanted to find out what it was that was bothering her, she was saying everything was okay but he saw in her eyes that it was a lie. "Okay..." he relented and backed off the subject. "But if you change your mind, I'll be here..." he waved his arm and indicated the desk that had become as cluttered as his old desk at the paper had been. "Researching information on dead guys."  
  
Sydney grinned, genuinely this time. "Thanks, hey, are you coming by tonight? Vaughn and I are ordering in and we always get way too much food..."  
  
"So you just want me there to eat your leftovers?" his blue eyes twinkled with mirth as he feigned being hurt by her comment. "Fine, fine, now I know why you invite me around all the time" Sydney pushed his arm playfully and Will's smile grew. He was glad he had made her happy again, if only for a few minutes. "I'm there."

Empty boxes of takeout food were spread across the table; as were drinks and napkins. Sydney, Vaughn and Will were all sat on the floor trying to remain interested in the made for TV movie they were supposedly watching. They were way too full up, even with Will's help in eating, to even think about the chocolate and cream dessert that awaited them in the kitchen. Sydney had invited her dad over too but Jack Bristow had declined the offer; saying he had work, something his daughter knew wasn't true.  
  
Will interrupted her thoughts; he was pointing at the TV screen with a look of disbelief. "Oh come on, he wouldn't just walk in like that!" he critiqued and then look at his two friends in turn. "He wouldn't, right? I mean in real life you wouldn't just walk into that kind of situation without backup?" he waited for confirmation from the professionals.  
  
The man on the screen had wandered into a warehouse alone after a tip- off that a bomb was about to go off at that location, when he got the call he had been half way across town and would have had time to get help. But he chose to sort out the problem himself. They watched as the fearless, or stupid protagonist tried to decide which wire to cut and could imagine, if Marshall was watching the same movie, him shouting technical mumbo jumbo at the TV, and telling Carrie how way off base the guy was with the bomb diffusion. "No way, we'd have help, professionals that are trained to deal with that kind of situation," Vaughn answered.  
  
Will nodded, that's what he had thought. He scoffed "is this guy even law enforcement --?"  
  
"Well there was that one time in Africa" Sydney contradicted Vaughn's earlier statement. Both men stopped watching the film and feeling their eyes on her, she looked at them. "You remember? There was that guy...what was his name?" she stopped to think and Vaughn took that moment to interrupt.  
  
"We never diffused a bomb in Africa."  
  
"Yeah we did, there was a man Peter or Petey or something" it was annoying her not being able to remember a simple short name.  
  
The two men shared puzzled glances. "Maybe it was a mission with Dixon at SD-6, before you started working with the CIA" Will suggested.  
  
Sydney nodded. "Yeah, that must be it" there was still a nagging doubt in her mind that it was it at all though, she would talk to Dixon about it tomorrow and clear up all her doubts. Or create more. 


	2. Remembering

_**Note: **Fair Cate _– The story is set in season 4, dealing with a few more of Sydney's memories during her missing two years, when she was Julia Thorne, and working for the covenant. Lauren isn't in the story, I haven't seen the last few episodes of season 3, and haven't read the spoilers so I'm not certain what happened to her

* * *

****

**Chapter Two  
**  
Julia's heart pounded in her chest as she watched the timer on the bomb tick down, 25...24...23...22. She pushed her hair back off her face and wished for a fan to cool herself down. She was supposed to be on a plane right now not stuck in an underground office full of important documents and files in Africa, her hands hovered over the wiring, which her partner had pulled out slightly to give them easier access. It was burning hot, the muggy air stifling them. "I can't believe you didn't think to check the area before we met here" she told him angrily.  
  
Peter was actually her contact, and sometimes partner when things had to be taken care of in that part of the world. Sweat trickled down his tanned brow and he blinked his eyes numerous times before eventually rubbing them to clear the blurriness. "It's where we always meet, how was I supposed to know we had been made?" his tone was sharp and his German accent shone through as it always did when he became annoyed. His grey eyes scanned the bomb, 18...17...16. "I've seen this before somewhere..." he was mostly speaking to himself "damnit! I don't know."  
  
Julia slowly inclined her head to stare at him. "This bomb is about to explode, we don't have time for 'I don't know'" she pulled her arms back, 13...12...11...she grabbed the green wire and yanked it out, ignoring Peter's panicked shout.  
  
**Los Angeles  
**  
Sydney awoke again, in the same state as the night before, this time however Vaughn was wide awake. He had woken up the first time she had cried out and had been waiting for her to come out of the nightmare. "His name was Peter" she watched Vaughn and waited for his reaction, at his nod she knew he knew what she was talking about. "The bomb was in an underground office that the covenant used."  
  
He looked past her to see the time on the radio clock. "We have to been in work in an hour and a half, how about we get up now and you can talk to Dixon before things start to get busy?" he suggested. Sydney nodded and made to get out of bed, Vaughn pulled her back and brushed some strands of hair away from her eyes "it'll be okay" he reassured her. She wished she had his optimism.  
  
**CIA Operations Center  
**  
The two young agents were sat in Dixon's office, the Director himself was seated behind the desk and waited quietly, patiently, and with a concerned look, for Sydney to finish telling him what was going on. Or rather, trying to explain as best she could with the scattered images that rushed through her mind. "Will confirmed yesterday that this man Roger Ashford was real, and he's checking records right now to see if any bombs exploded in Africa during the time I disappeared...I don't know what else to do...all I have is one name, or half a name. I couldn't even say where in Africa" Sydney stopped talking, she needed to vent a little bit after giving herself a headache with just thinking about it.  
  
Dixon noticed the thoughtful look that had gradually appeared on Vaughn's face as Sydney had talked and when the younger man didn't say anything Dixon spoke up "what are you thinking?"  
  
"I was thinking about the time when Will underwent hypnotherapy...maybe that could help this time too; instead of waiting for you to remember them in your sleep, which could take months judging from how mixed up these memories are. Perhaps we can focus on the ones you've already had" Vaughn suggested. He looked from Sydney's contemplative face to Dixon who was already nodding his agreement with the idea.  
  
"I'll set it up" Dixon informed them. The situation was worrying, just when they thought everything had been figured out, they found out that it was far from over. The two agents stood up to leave when Dixon called them back "have you seen you father? I tried to contact him but there's been no reply at his home or on his cell phone."  
  
Sydney thought back on the day before that she had seem him, when he had declined her invitation to dinner, he had seemed distant and on edge. "I haven't seen him since yesterday morning" it seemed that Sydney wasn't the only one with problems.

* * *

Jack had contacted Irina early yesterday, a couple of hours before he had seen Sydney. At the time they had talked he had been on his way out of the building and was in a rush, though to look at him he appeared to be the same as always. He sat in his car with the laptop balanced on his knee and the sun blaring through the side window and warming his face, Irina was supposed to have replied an hour ago and he was growing anxious over her silence. In fact, though some may say it was impossible to tell over a computer, she had not seemed the same to him for quite some time. The last conversation that he hadn't gotten a strange vibe from her was before he was taken to prison. She was extremely tight lipped about what she had been up to during that time, and he was becoming suspicious of her again.  
  
Jack felt that he had a right to second guess what Irina did after all that she had done to him and other people, but at the same time he felt a pang of guilt that he should begin to question her just when things had been running smoothly. Just before he had been taken to solitary they had set up a time and place to meet and compare notes on what they had learned thus far about the Covenant. Irina had abruptly cancelled, telling him that something more important had come up, that had set off alarm bells for him. What could have been more important than searching for their daughter?  
  
He looked at his watch and sighed, he was tired, annoyed and frustrated. He shut the laptop down; this was not the first time she had decided not to make contact without prior warning. It was enough to put him in a mood for the remainder of the day.

* * *

The calm voice washed over Sydney and lulled her into a calm state, the doorway between her conscious and subconscious opening, her breathing began to slow and she continued to listen to the female voice as she spoke to her via the mike behind the glass viewing window. Vaughn watched her closely, at the moment Sydney seemed perfectly calm and content, but if Will's hypnotherapy session was anything to go by, that would soon change. The brunette's head cocked to one side as if she was trying to listen to something, it couldn't have been the doctor's voice as she was speaking clearly, he guessed she was mirroring the actions that she was seeing in her mind. The door behind him opened and Vaughn saw Jack's reflection in the glass. Dixon had managed to contact Jack before the appointment began and he in turn had called the doctor to inform her of his impending late arrival, she was expecting him so didn't stop to see who it was that had interrupted.  
  
"Sydney tried to contact you after she found out Dixon couldn't" Vaughn told him and looked around so that he could see Jack and still keep an eye on Sydney.  
  
Jack just nodded at first, his attention taken by his daughter who was sitting in the chair, still looking okay with the proceedings. "I got her message and came here" they kept their voices low so that their conversation didn't carry to the microphone and onto Sydney.  
  
"Tell me what you see, Sydney" the doctor said to her.  
  
She didn't answer for a couple of minutes but when she did she sounded uncertain, as if she wasn't clearly aware of where she was in her mind. "I think I'm underground...I can hear someone else..." she trailed off.  
  
Vaughn leaned in towards the Doctor. "She mentioned an underground office in Africa, the man with her was Peter..."  
  
The woman nodded and returned to speaking with Sydney.  
  
"How long has this been going on for?" Jack wanted to know.  
  
"Just the past couple of days" was the other man's reply.  
  
"Sydney, I want you to look around the area, try and see the man's face. You said you could hear him speak, describe his voice. Are there any rooms nearby?" the Doctor prompted.  
  
There was an immediate reaction this time. "He's German, it's Peter..." Sydney sounded relieved that they finally seemed to be getting somewhere with this session. She had been warned that there may not be immediate results, that it was possible but not to get her hopes up. "We're meeting at an office, he's shouting me, there's a bomb" Sydney's voice sped up, the information coming fast as things began to clear up. "It's at 30 seconds...it's a couple of miles until we reach the surface again, there's no time to run we have to diffuse it!" she started to sound panicky.  
  
"Sydney, I want you to go forward a little bit. Tell me what happens next..." she had been told her patient had woken up just before the timer hit zero.  
  
Sydney started laughing, it was a nervous laughter, she sounded incredibly relieved. "Peter can't believe I did that..."  
  
"What did you do?"  
  
"I pulled out the green wire without giving any warning, he's freaking out" she made it sound like the dangerous situation had become extremely funny. "I told him I remember Marshall helping me diffuse a bomb like this one before..." her laughter began to stop but a grin was on her face. It looked like she was having an hilarious dream, not a long forgotten memory.  
  
Neither Vaughn nor Jack was smiling though, both looked very concerned. It was Jack that gave the Doctor instructions this time "ask her why she told her contact about Marshall" presumably Peter worked for the Covenant, so how did he react when Julia Thorne started to talk about Marshall, a person she had known as Sydney Bristow.  
  
"Sydney, why did you tell Peter about Marshall, wouldn't that be dangerous?" things were starting to take an interesting turn, whether that was a good thing or a bad things had yet to be determined.  
  
She looked puzzled now as though pondering the question. "I don't know...I think I must have mentioned Marshall before...he's laughing now. He's Covenant but I told him about myself, my real self" she was worried again now. "Why would I do that? It's stupid and dangerous and --."  
  
"Okay, I want you to go forward again" the Doctor interrupted, it wouldn't help at all if Sydney started to become confused again, it might cloud her thoughts. "Where are you?"  
  
Sydney's body jerked as though she had just been thrown and her hand gripped the sides or the chair she was sat on, her knuckles became white. "He's here!" she cried out. "oh God, he knows. He's threatening to tell the Covenant what I'm up to" she panicked.  
  
"He can't hurt you" the Doctor's calm voice reminded Sydney. "These events have already passed, no harm can come to you here. Who is the man that you see?"  
  
"It's Ashford" her breathing was faster now and she struggled to regain her composure. "He's been watching me. He has a gun...he's about to shoot. I can't move, I'm strapped to the chair..." her trembling hands flew to her stomach as though she had just been shot.  
  
"Bring her out of it now" Jack's authorative voice ordered.  
  
Quickly the Doctor complied. 


	3. Answers

**Chapter Three  
  
**

**LOS ANGELES  
**  
Sydney ran a hand through her hair, immediately after seeing herself about to be shot in the chair her breathing had become more erratic, the voice of the Doctor eased her fears and her eyes snapped open. She looked dazed at first, her breathing was normal now and she looked around to see her father on one side of her and Vaughn on the other, both wore matching expressions of worry. "That was intense...I felt like I was right there...reliving every moment" she took in the faces of the two men. "I'm fine though." She quickly told them everything she saw; as if worried that she would forget everything in a few seconds. "I want to go back," Sydney then announced.  
  
"Out of the question" Jack answered straight away, his voice stern. He was concerned for her as father but if he needed to he would pull rank, though he knew she would be furious. It would be for the best, at least for now.  
  
His daughter did look immediately frustrated, Vaughn placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and he succeeded in keeping her calm. "Dad, I can handle this! I lived through it once I can do it again, especially as this time I know nothing can happen to me" she argued. She sat up in the chair.  
  
"Sydney, maybe your father is right" the female Bristow looked at Vaughn with a look of surprise. Jack kept his hidden. "At least wait a day or two, you don't want to rush into another session...what you've given us so far should keep us busy until then." Jack was half glad that Vaughn had intervened and made Sydney think about changing her mind – but at the same time he was irked that she would listen to him and not her father.  
  
The Doctor walked into the room and waited for the three agents to finish speaking. "Come back in a couple of days, Agent Bristow" she said, agreeing with the two men. "We don't want to over do this."  
  
Sydney nodded, though she was quite willing to stay for a few more hours and get all of the memories out of her system so they could begin to analyze them all the sooner. She rose from the chair "I want to know how he found out about me. And I'm still here...and there was no way I was getting out of that chair on my own, someone must have helped me" and maybe that someone was still out there. Questions were flooding her mind and only she had the ability to answer them, and she was being told to wait two days to find the answers that she so desperately wanted, not wanted – needed.  
  
**ITALY  
**  
The mansion had almost been completely destroyed around a year and a half ago; after Julia Thorne had made her presence known to it's few occupants. The murder had been made to look like a burglary gone wrong and so many of the items had been taken out, probably sold at auction or a pawn shop, the building had been ransacked. Peter had arrived in Italy the day before and had stopped by the mansion a few hours earlier, there were guards but they were hidden, it wouldn't have looked particularly inconspicuous if outsiders saw men patrolling the grounds and he was going for uttermost secrecy. The Covenant did not know he was there; to them Peter was in hiding somewhere in Africa. In fact he had planned on staying in Italy, but he had known a job would be waiting for him. The German had been correct in his assumption. He was going to LA.  
  
**LOS ANGELES  
  
JTF BUILDING**  
  
"I'm assuming here that Ashford was killed by whoever helped me" Sydney hated all the assumptions, especially when she knew that a few minutes drive away was all it took to get answers. "Until the second session we can't know for sure though" she hinted. It had been eight hours since her first session had ended, and she was itching to go back. Directly afterwards they had called Dixon to give him an update, the Director had given Sydney direct orders to get a few hours' rest before returning to work, in the hope that maybe the session would have brought forth more memories.  
  
"And you've had no more dreams?" Dixon asked her. Sydney shook her head that was also maddening. It was like her mind agreed with Vaughn and her father that she needed a rest from the memories, as though was fighting herself. "Do you think you could handle another session so soon?"  
  
She nodded, looking less eager than what she felt. "I'm positive. What I can't handle is waiting for another day or two" Sydney stressed; Jack and Vaughn were not in the office, she felt certain that if they were they would have been insisting she wait.  
  
"Okay" Dixon answered. "I want you to promise me that if you start to get uncomfortable or that you can't handle anymore, just stop and try again in a few days' time" he told her firmly. Sydney smiled gratefully and nodded her head before thanking him and leaving the office.  
  
Will met her on the way out. His eyes were flashing as though he had just found the story of a life time "hey, I've been looking all over for you."  
  
"I was just telling Dixon what we had so far, it isn't much but it's better than what we had before. What's up?" she could tell he was dying to tell her something.  
  
He dove right in. "I did some more research, this time on Peter. I checked out old records and there was information on an explosion in Africa...anyway, I found out he's alive" he quickly got to the point. There was a lot of other data but that could wait until later. "And I know how to contact him."  
  
Sydney pulled Will to one side, out of earshot of the other people in the rotunda. "How?"  
  
"Peter regularly meets up with a man called LeBatelier, the same LeBatelier that the CIA uses sometimes. If anyone will know how to contact Peter it's him!" he grinned, almost giddy that he had found something concrete that they could actually use.  
  
Sydney felt like hugging him, actually she felt like jumping up and down and waving her arms around shouting 'I'm not crazy!' "That's great..."  
  
"Well let's go tell Dixon" Will started off in the direction that Sydney had just come from. She however, stayed still, looking slightly guilty. "Well?" he waited for her to follow him, a few seconds passed before it hit him. "No Syd, you promised your dad and Vaughn that you wouldn't go back there."  
  
"I didn't promise anything" she responded slightly indignant. "They made the decision for me. I talked to Dixon and he agreed" Will looked dubious. "It'll be fine, okay? I'll be back in a couple of hours" she began to walk away until she heard Will run after her.  
  
He halted in her path. "Fine, but I'm coming with" there was absolutely no changing his mind, and Sydney was glad because she wasn't going to try.

* * *

The Doctor was visibly apprehensive about beginning another session so soon after the last, but after fifteen minutes of fast talking persuasiveness, she changed her mind. She knew that Agent Bristow was strong mentally and that she could probably withstand another session, she just didn't want to push it. It could be dangerous.  
  
Sydney once again occupied the leather chair from earlier. Will shifted from one foot to the other while he watched, he felt strange being there again, the place certainly hadn't left him with warm fuzzy feelings the last time. But this was for a good cause; he continued to remind himself. "I want you to go back to the room Sydney, you are tied to the chair..."  
  
Sydney didn't need to hear anymore, she cried out as she had in the last lesson, the familiar fear of earlier returned in full force. Again she gripped the chair arms. Will stepped closer to the glass as though narrowing the distance by a few centimeters might help Sydney. "God, he hates me. He's calling me a traitor.... that the Covenant would reward him for killing me. He doesn't care about them he just wants money and glory!" Sydney sounded, rightly, disgusted. Her head moved to the side as in her mind the gun was pressed to her temple, she shivered and her face became a steel mask suddenly, with no emotion. "He knows about Peter...he going after him next, he's telling me what he'll do to him!" she scrunched her eyes closed as if trying to block out the images. Only these were in her mind, not in front of her and no matter how tightly she closed her eyes the images would never be blocked out. A tear rolled down her cheek and then another, the emotions she had felt on that day so long ago returning and flowing free in the sterile white room of LA.  
  
"Can't you stop this or something?" Will asked the Doctor, sounding distressed for his best friend. Seeing her in pain and knowing he could do nothing was torture.  
  
The Doctor leaned into the mike. "Sydney, I want you to come out of it. I will count to --."  
  
Sydney interrupted her, her voice fierce and daring the Doctor to go against her wishes. "Don't! I want to know what happens next. Otherwise we'll just keep coming back to this moment and never get passed it!" she shouted out. Before the Doctor could say anything else she forced the memory to continue, going with it and remembering every tiny detail. She had come this far; there was no way she would give up now. "Ashford, he's stepping back. He's about to shoot..." now this part she remembered all too well.  
  
_The door burst open, an explosion knocked the door off its hinges and it hung there, squeaking for a second or two before Ashford reacted. Too slowly he moved as the black clad intruder fought to wrench the gun from his grasp. The gun went off and Ashford slumped against the slim figure. His weapon was tossed to one side and a knife instead was held in the hand the gun had occupied._  
  
"I don't believe it" Sydney whispered. Her head moved back as though someone had lifted it back.  
  
_Sydney stepped passed her, she was grateful for Irina's help, but she couldn't forget that her mother should not have known she was there. She couldn't be trusted and so Sydney let that mistrust shine through in her face and actions; she picked up Ashford's discarded gun. "We will have to make time. How did you know I was here? Are you working for the covenant? Did you betray them and they're coming after you? Do they think I'm working with you?"  
  
Not for the first time Irina wished Sydney had not inherited the too familiar stubborn trait. "I am not working for the Covenant; your father and myself have been trying to find you, we thought you were dead...I'm not working for the enemy --."  
  
"You are the enemy! In case you forgot" though her daughter had reason to believe that were true, it still hurt. During Irina's time in CIA custody they had finally, after so long, gone forward and after her escape, they had taken so many steps back again.  
  
"And you have every reason to believe that...I will tell you everything that I know but we do not have time for that now" Irina looked back through the doorway but so far all was clear. She looked at Sydney beseechingly "the Covenant will find out about your deception if you do not leave here now."  
_  
_The hand holding the gun wavered until her arm fell to her side. She felt exhausted and so confused. "How did you know I was here?" her voice was softer now, in this new life where everything was different and so wrong, she wanted to believe in someone from her past; so much.  
  
Irina walked the few steps towards Sydney, shortening the gap between them; she took the gun from Sydney and set it down on the chair beside them. "Peter contacted me, he found out that Ashford knew the truth about you..." again she looked around and again the coast was clear. "You have to leave." Sydney nodded and wiped her eyes, she made to walk past but stopped beside her mother, to Irina's surprise and happiness her daughter flung her arms around her and hugged her tightly, as if she believed this was all a dream.  
_  
Sydney wiped the tears away; she wanted to stay in that chair for hours more to remember more memories, to recall that one back once more. But there was no time, an hour had passed and in the distance she could hear the Doctor calling her back to the present, Sydney clung onto that last moment, cherishing it. Her mother had come for her. What kind of enemy would do that? The memory began to fade until she was squinting against the brightness of the room, Will was beside her and she realised with a feeling of dread that Jack was in the doorway. He did not look pleased.


	4. Disbelief

**Chapter Four  
**

Sydney wanted to continue with the second session, to ignore her father behind the glass-viewing window and pretend she hadn't even seen him yet. She knew he would not interrupt and would instead wait impatiently for her to finish. But she had caught his eye and knew that he knew she had seen him. He looked annoyed and Sydney felt guilty that she had done this behind his back; gone against his wishes that he only had out of worry for her well being. And then she to felt annoyed, he was her father but she was an adult too! If she wanted another Hypnotherapy session soon she wasn't going to find her father and ask his permission. She knew also that when Vaughn found out he would be disappointed, he would understand why she did it but the disappointment would still be there. Her father she could get away from but Vaughn she couldn't.  
Will looked nervous as he glanced from Jack to Sydney; he wondered if Jack would turn on him, berate him for not stopping his daughter. Luckily for him Jack paid him no heed. The Doctor spoke through the mic; feeling the tension and breaking the silence that had descended over the two rooms. The session – all of them, were over for today. There would be no more until Sydney was well rested. Sydney would not sleep yet though, she would stay awake and analyse the newest memories. He had so many questions and now it seemed her mother may have some of the answers. She leant forward in the chair and heard the door open as someone left. She kind of hoped it was her dad; she did not want to deal with the third degree just then. But it was the Doctor that was gone, to give them some space.  
Jack spoke to Will, acknowledging him. "Give us a few minutes."  
Will looked hesitant to leave but Sydney nodded to let him know it was okay. "I'll be right outside" and if he heard raised voices he would march on back inside – he wouldn't know what to say but he would return anyway. The door opened and closed again and the two Bristow's were left alone. Father and daughter, each with equally stubborn personalities that believed themselves to be correct on the matter of the sessions; ensuring neither would back down.  
Jack moved forward into the next room; even if they did begin to shout it was unlikely anyone in the corridor would hear them as the room was soundproof. "Dad –"Sydney started but was cut off. She should have guessed that her father would want the first word; he had been standing there solemnly for the last five minutes, hands in pockets, probably running through his mind what to say to her.  
He would not want to mess things up by speaking out in annoyance. But what one thinks and what one says can be two completely different things. "You completely ignored what I said. You went against my orders –"he almost winced. That had not come out right.  
"Your orders?" she echoed. "I can make up my own mind of whether I come back for more sessions, I don't need to ask for your permission" she stood up and faced him with a stern expression. "I admit that maybe I should have told you but then I didn't expect you to follow me here."  
"I didn't follow you here; Vaughn was looking for you and came to me to see if that's where you were. I thought you may have come here but went to see Dixon to make sure" Jack corrected her almost defensively. "I'm not going to apologise for coming here, I was worried you were overdoing things with your overzealous want to find out about your missing memories" he spoke all at once and paused to take a breath.  
"Overzealous?" she questioned in disbelief. Was she really that bad? Sydney ignored for now that he had expressed concern. She though he would have been worried but had not really expected him to openly admit it. She charged on, wanting to say her bit "I am finding out more now than I thought I would, you can't expect me to wait and sit around doing nothing."  
"You wouldn't be doing nothing; you have information to research" Jack reminded her. He was agitated but did not show it; sometimes it infuriated him that he no longer had much say in her actions, that she saw his belief at knowing what was best for her as trying to control her.  
"And now that I've had this second session I have more information to research" she countered; wanting him to challenge that logic so she could show him that she knew what was best.  
Jack stopped; more interested now in finding out what she had to say about the memories than arguing his point. "And what did you find out?"  
Sydney hadn't expected him to chance the direction of the conversation quite so fast or so soon. The topic of her newfound memories couldn't really be considered safe either with him just now, not with Irina coming into the picture. "Remember the last time it ended with me about to get shot?" he nodded; of course he remembered. It was her reaction to that incident that caused him to stop the last session so abruptly. "This time, when I saw more, mo was there. She saved my life" Sydney saw from his slight reaction; curiosity tinged with confusion and dubiousness, that his interest had grown. "She told me that we had to leave; that the Covenant were on their way. She wouldn't tell me anything else"  
Jack nodded and he looked as though he were far away then and lost in his thoughts. "I told you that your mother and I spoke before I was taken into solitary..." Sydney remembered. She had wondered at this since then; what else had they talked about? Had it all been business between them or had something long gone been renewed on either of their parts? As a child she had thought back on the times when they were all together; that it might be possible again after so long...Jack carried on speaking, "a few weeks after I got out Irina contacted me again, I told her that you were doing well considering how long you'd been missing and what you found on your return. Not once did she mention seeing you."

* * *

Peter stretched his legs as he calmly paced the room he had been placed in upon reaching the checkpoint at LAX and announcing who he was. His joints creaked as he raised his arms above his head and cracked his knuckles. He hated flying yet it was something he did often and should have become accustomed to, but he would never get used to it. He had been in the grey walled room with pale blue carpet and no windows for an hour; and he was becoming impatient. There was an air conditioning system but it was turned off so he was becoming unbearably warm. He had thought the CIA would come to collect him straight away; his picture would be sent to them and he would be taken to their headquarters for questioning. That was what he had planned would happen.  
But thus far none of that had happened, as far as he was aware. That only meant one thing; they did not know who he was, Sydney did not know who he was. He wanted to know the reason why.

* * *

"Ask her a question" Sydney instructed from the passenger seat of Jack's car. He was on the drivers side with the laptop balanced on his lap. At least this time she had made contact. It felt like an absurd reconstruction of when they had questioned Irina in her cell to see whether she was being truthful about what she told them. And now they doubted her word again only this time they had no clue where in the world she was. Irina wasn't giving an answer on that front. "About the memories...about..."  
Jack typed in a question. 'How is Luc?' 'Still dead' was the immediate reply.  
In hindsight it was not a particularly good way to test her, and number of people could know of his demise. Luc was a man, a contact that they had gone to early on in their search for Sydney. Things had not gone as planned and he had been killed.  
'Jack, what's wrong? Why are you testing me?' Irina queried.  
'Sydney is recalling memories' he typed, ignoring her question.  
'That's great' a few seconds passed by this time before her answer.  
The reply was short and curt. His heart sank. Sydney noticed his change in demeanour "dad, what's wrong?" she wondered what it was about her mother's short answer that upset him.  
Jack answered quietly as he stared at the last message on the screen. "I was growing suspicious before I went into solitary; when I came out and told her you were back I didn't mention you had no memory of the past two years. When I told her just now that you were remembering again she shouldn't have had any idea what I was talking about." He typed in that Dixon had contacted him and he had to leave; the connection was terminated. "That wasn't your mother."

* * *

Vaughn stepped into the bare room at LAX containing the man known only as 'Peter'. The German was sat down at the table now drumming his fingers on the wood. He looked up as the CIA Agent entered and his eyes narrowed; not trusting this new stranger. Vaughn was curious – this man had known Sydney for the two years that she had been lost to him and so many other people in her life. Peter could answer so many questions and that was why Dixon had sent him there. When first they had gotten word that a man had just arrived at the airport, telling the security there that he needed to peak with Agent Bristow of the CIA, they had been confused as to who he was. It had struck them with his name and the description they were given just who this man was. It appeared they didn't need Will's contact anymore, Peter had come to them.  
"I know you came here to talk to Agent Bristow, well let me tell you now that until you answer some of my questions, you won't see her" Vaughn had drawn up the bargain. All Peter had to do was accept; or they would both walk away with nothing.

* * *

Sydney knew this dream; this memory. It was the first that she had had only a couple of nights ago. She had snuck into a room of the beautiful house and the gun flew from her hands due to a well-aimed kick.  
  
_"Don't make me fight you, I don't want to kill you, Sydney" the voice was soft spoken, calm and so familiar. It should have been. Irina moved away from the corner of the room and into the centre where there was room enough to fight. They were in a study; which was spacious. She had been planning on having more book cases fitted, maybe the tall ones, the type that reached the ceiling and spanned the length of the wall.  
"My name is Julia Thorne, Derevko. Though it doesn't matter what my name is; you still won't get a chance to kill me. The house will explode in..." she glanced at her watch "4 minutes. Whether I kill you or the explosion does, you're still going to die."  
Irina shook her head as she weighed up the woman that looked like her daughter but had an utterly different personality. "You're right; you're not my daughter. Sydney doesn't talk quite so much during a fight" Neither woman moved, none of them attacking first. The seconds ticked by as they stood in the quiet room, "why are you doing this?" she asked, wanting answers for the sudden intrusion. It was unexpected and Irina did not like to be surprised in such a way.  
Julia scoffed. "You think you can kill a member of the Covenant and get away with it?" she moved quickly, grabbed the gun that was still lying on the marble floor where it had fallen, and spun around even as she heard the click of another gun. This would get them nowhere. They stood aiming at one another; Julia glared at Irina who stood defiantly but with a calm demeanour still. Julia tossed her gun away, understanding her intentions Irina nodded and did likewise. The Covenant Agent looked at her watch again and cocked an eyebrow "2 and a half minutes; we'll have to make this fast."  
"Don't worry, this won't take long" Irina answered her. A flicker of emotion showed and Julia took it as a weakness to use against her. This woman that she now faced; strong but unwilling to kill, it would be her downfall Julia decided, for she had no such qualms.  
They circled one another like two Tigers in a cage about to fight for supremacy. They checked each other for any sign of physical weakness that could be used against them; Julia favoured her right ankle, possibly a result of her most recent fight outside in the corridor. Julia through a right-handed punch that Irina blocked but did not follow through with an attack of her own; she was staying on the defensive and her opponent smirked. This should be easy she decided. And then Irina kicked out with her right leg and using Julia's bad ankle against her, it caused her to fall backwards. She saved herself from falling to the floor completely and pulled Irina to the side and off balance. Both women easily recovered; they were still warming up. The time was ticking. The door slammed open and Julia's previous opponent, no longer using the floor as a place to 'sleep', burst in and aimed his gun at the woman that not so long ago defeated him. Neither woman took their eyes off one another to see who was there but as the other guards were outside it was a simple process of elimination. Irina ordered him to stop.  
The man was furious and kept his finger on the trigger; he stepped forward and Irina glanced to her left to order him again to stand down. Julia took the opening and ran forward. She kicked Irina, Julia's foot connecting with the side of her head and the brunette toppled to the floor; Julia followed through with another kick, this time aiming at her stomach. But Irina caught her foot and twisted, Julia had no choice but to turn lest her ankle be broken. 1 minute 20 seconds remained. They both made for the nearby gun, which Irina had flung to the floor, and fought for possession of the weapon as they surged to their feet. The man was forgotten as they fought on and he waved his gun from one woman to the other trying to get a fix on the blonde. "I won't kill you" Irina felt her grip on the gun lessen.  
Julia just looked at her coolly; with no remorse. "Too bad" the gun went off, the noise sounding preposterously loud in the otherwise eerily quiet room.  
Irina relinquished her hold on the gun and the burning pain in her stomach intensified with each slowing beat of her heart. She slid to the floor and Julia moved with her; perhaps to see her mark take her last breath, to be certain her mission was complete, that Irina Derevko was truly dead. Irina closed her eyes and tensed, a short time passed before she opened them again and looked Julia in the eye, trying to find some sign of Sydney in her. There was nothing. That was, quite possibly, a good thing. Technically it was not her daughter that had killed her. Though she knew, even as she fought for her last few seconds of life, that if Sydney did somehow ever recall this moment she would still blame herself. There were no last words, after all this was Julia Thorne, what would she care for sentimental words of a mother to her daughter? And besides, the woman was leaving anyway. The man shook himself out of his shocked state of mind and began shooting at Julia as she jumped the first floor balcony of the study. Irina hoped he missed. She wondered if Jack would learn of her death, she thought. The house would be gone soon, her body undistinguishable among the rubble and debris. Would he think of her? Wonder why she suddenly faded out with no word? If he did find out, would her mourn her passing? Again? She wasn't sure. Maybe he would find thank Julia for doing something that he should have done long ago. Irina did not want him to find out, in this case it would be better if he was left wondering rather than knowing the truth – not that he would agree with that. It just didn't seem fair that she should cause him one last great pain; even if it was not intended. But then, it was comforting to know someone would miss her.  
Her mind was foggy now and her eyes closed again; one last, final time. Outside Julia waited and was satisfied when the explosion rocked the quiet area.  
  
_ Sydney bolted upright in bed, something that was becoming a regular occurrence, and a wretched sob escaped. Vaughn was not there, Dixon had sent him goodness knows where, and she was alone. She reached for the phone on the bedside cabinet and shaky fingers pressed the digits. A tired voice answered and Sydney spoke through her tears, a more alert voice now answered "Sydney! What happened? Sydney?"  
She took deep breaths. "Dad..." she tried to calm her quivering voice but the images assaulted her mind "I killed mom" Sydney told him as another cry escaped. "I'm sorry, Daddy, I killed my mom...!" 


	5. Truth

**Chapter Five **

Jack was not prone to outwardly showing signs of emotion; he kept his feelings bottled up inside, a mask perfectly set to allow no one, no even his daughter, to see what he was thinking at any given time. The carefulness served him well when he first saw Irina again, in the flesh, after almost thirty years. He had betrayed nothing about what he felt during those first few minutes. He became angry sometimes, fiercely protective of Sydney when she was, or he believed her to be, in danger. But other than that he just did not have outbursts of sudden emotion. When he first heard that Irina has turned herself into the CIA he had been concerned and curious, wondering what she was up to, suspicious certainly but then everyone had felt that, anger too, that she tried to worm her way back into the lives of those that she had so long ago betrayed and left. He had sworn to himself that never again would he get close enough to her; mentally, physically, emotionally, it was the reason he had not visited her at first for such a long time during her incarceration. But that had changed over time; numerous times he had cursed that fact.

But the carefully guarded CIA Agent could not stop the sharp intake of breath at his daughters words, his throat felt dry and constricted then and an uncomfortable and tension filled silence ensued. At times he had pondered on what he would way, wondered what he would feel should he hear the words, or the like "Irina Derevko is dead," relief, Jack believed he would feel. How wrong he was with that assumption. But in his musings about how she might meet her end: by his hand? Going out in a blaze of glory? That his wife, because even after she had returned he had still not taken the steps to sever that tie, his daughter would kill her - he had not considered that. And now that he had heard it he felt a sudden onslaught of anguish. Disbelief and dread crept inside. A clamping heaviness settled over his heart and it felt, as Sydney spoke those tragic words, that it had ceased it rhythmic beat, though that was not possible. He refused to believe what his brain was making sense of. Sydney had killed her mother, his wife, Irina had been killed by her daughter -- no matter how that sentence was phrased in his mind it still did not make sense; not that it should. He realised with a pang that Irina being dead would never had sounded right, not matter how it happened or by whom.

Jack had been asleep when Sydney called, he had crashed on the couch intending on sleeping only a couple of hours before joining Vaughn at the airport. Dixon had updated him on what had happened and ordered Jack rest up before doing anything to help. It was believed that if Peter did not speak to Vaughn, Jack would be able to drag a bit of information out of him.

His sleep-deprived mind had ensured he reacted to Sydney's news in such a way that his emotions were unchecked. "That..." he breathed deeply, slowly, calmly, but his tone told loud and clear his shock, grief and disbelief. His voice choked while the analytical part of his fast acting mind made him think a reasonable explanation was within arms reach. An explanation of the sort where it would be quickly found out that this was a terrible mistake "Where...how did you learn this?" It was not possible just then, even for him, to sound in a situation such as this, detached. How could he become detached in a situation that directly impacted him in such a tremendous way? Training, quite possibly, should have kicked in to provide sufficient help but that would only be for an Agent hearing about the death of an enemy of his country. But that news immediately turned him into the husband grieving the loss of the woman he loved. Again.

He had asked himself that sometimes: Was it love? He remembered vividly that once that is what it had been. Later on he reasoned, after seeing her again, that he had become simple desire. Desire for the unattainable. Only now did he realise the truth and it hammered home with a force that rivaled a storm that capsizes a great and strong ship on a turbulent ocean. "Better to have loved a lost than never to have loved at all..." Jack thought then, with a mirthless laugh, that that quote should be extended to more adequately suit Irina and him. "Better to have loved and lost...and lost and loved the same woman once again, than never to have loved at all" perhaps.

Sydney broke through his musings to answer his question. She was pacing her own room, trying to clear her head and compose herself. "I...I was asleep and, mom was the person I fought at the house...I was Julia Thorne and...we fought and, I shot her!" she spoke fast; not wanting any interruptions. "The house...it was destroyed, I set charges..." she fell silent and slid to the carpeted floor with her back against the bed with covers strewn messily across it. She couldn't stand this.

Though he fought against it Jack could not override the shock or the pain. When he next spoke he sounded completely void of emotion. "I'm coming over...I'll, stay where you are" in a state akin to being in a daze he found his coat, having fallen into his light slumber fully clothed, and laid his hand upon the door to open it when an all to familiar bleeping sounded from the still switched on laptop that occupied the coffee table situated in front of the couch he had just left. He knew who it was, Irina -- no, he pushed that thought quickly away. It was not Irina, had it ever been? Whoever was calling was Mr. Anonymous. Jack's mind made quick work of what had happened. Irina had somehow become an enemy of the Covenant, who in turn had used Julia; their newest operative, to seek out and kill her. It was quite poetic. Somehow they had acquired the means to contact Jack in the way that he and Irina had communicated. Someone had taken her place and he had been none the wiser. Jack felt like a fool. Jack did not like to be made a fool out of; especially by the enemy. A deep fury reserved only for a few people began to grow, he already hated the Covenant and now they would face the full power of his wrath. They would pay, he would make sure of that. His anger took control of his almost overwhelming sorrow; he resisted the urge to throw the laptop and instead returned to the couch where he sat on the edge and stared at the screen, his fingers poised above the keys.

They had tricked him and he would return the favour. No, more than that, he would trap them and make them sorry for ever having the audacity to mess with his family. Five minutes later and Jack stepped into the cool night air. It had all been set up. And now he had to console his daughter. How could he face her?


	6. Interrogation

**Chapter Six**

****

**LOS ANGELES  
  
SYDNEY'S RESIDENCE**  
  
Sydney stared at the cup of coffee in her hand; she clutched the handle tighter to stop her shaky hand, the murky brown contents rippled with the slight movement. It was going cold but she barely noticed. She had, after putting down the phone and sitting in silence for ten more minutes in the darkened bedroom, made the drink purely out of something to do, to occupy her cluttered mind. Waiting for the kettle to boil had left her open to the unpleasant thoughts and so she had started to tidy up the living room, the magazines she either threw into the bin or put into a perfect neat pile on the table. The remote control had been balancing on the sofa arm so she moved that to set it beside the magazines, she had tidied up the coasters and rearranged the coats by the door so they weren't about to drop to the floor. By the time she had finished the water in the kettle had needed to be boiled again but instead she poured it into the cup. She'd forgotten the milk so beside the shock of drinking luke warm instead of scorching hot coffee, the too bitter for her liking taste of coffee had jolted her awake also. Sydney felt lost, unbelievably depressed, guiltier than she ever thought would be possible considering who was dead. Two years ago she hoped her mother would be wiped from the face of the Earth.  
  
She felt nauseous and not for the first time she realised she was probably still in shock, the ticking clock sounded loud as an avalanche in the otherwise quiet living room and for the umpteenth time the hockey puck clock drew her gaze to it. It felt longer than 18 minutes had assed. She had tried to call Vaughn but his cell was turned off, the only thing the Agent wanted to do was curl into a tight ball and let her dreams take her away. A long run would usually aid her in clearing up her head but this time she had to stay in and wait for her father. Not for the first time Sydney went to the front door and looked out, but it was silent, not a murmur came from anywhere. She wondered where her dad was, he should have been there by now.  
  
**LAX**  
  
Peter eyed the man that peered over the table at him with dubious eyes. This man that watched him with such distaste and doubt was denying him what he wanted above all else at the moment. He had come to the United States for one reason only, to find Sydney – Julia, and the man that identified himself as Agent Vaughn was keeping him from that goal. Usually a cool man in most situations...except when having to defuse an unexpected bomb at 20 odd seconds, he found himself holding back from jumping out of his blue plastic chair and escaping. The only place that would get him what A. in a cell B. 6ft under or C. completely lost in a city that was completely new to him. He favoured neither option. They eyed each other from across the table, one with information and the other seeking to extract said information. Neither was willing to relent and so they had gotten nowhere very fast. Vaughn was almost desperate for Peter to start talking; he wanted to satisfy his own curiosity as well as help Sydney, he was also a little bit jealous. This man had known his girlfriend during her missing two years, had found out things about her that he was only just starting to. He was also suspicious of Peter's apparent protectiveness of her.  
  
"There are conditions" Peter broke through the silence that until now had seemed never ending, "I want things for my help."  
  
Vaughn didn't bat an eyelid though internally he was relieved. "Of course; I wouldn't expect any less."  
  
Peter visibly relaxed, his previously tense shoulders slouching as he leant forward on the table. "Good, now tell me what you wish to know."  
  
The Agent had been briefed beforehand on what he could and could not say. The Agency wanted information certainly but not if what Intel Peter wanted was deemed to be too big to give, if that turned out to be the case then all bets were off and it would be back to the drawing board for Sydney. "How is it that you know her as Sydney? At the time the two of you met she was undercover" he had lied about the last part, divulging information about her disappearance was a no no. But of course if Peter really did know about that then he would see through the lie straight away.  
  
He hesitated, knowing that Vaughn had lied to him straight off the bat was not surprising to him but it made his mistrust the man. "...She came to trust me" it wasn't a complete untruth, unfortunately for him Vaughn was not buying it.  
  
The younger man shook his head and looked to the floor before meeting the other man eye for eye again. "She would never do that, her sense of loyalty to her country is too high to start talking about herself and effectively blowing her cover" Vaughn too leant forward now so that the two men were inches from each other. "Now how about the truth this time" he said condescendingly.  
  
The German's mouth twitched and he glared at the man he now so as an opponent. "That is rich coming from you" he growled through clenched teeth. Peter's patience was not infinite and it was rapidly wearing thin.  
  
"Let me tell you something..." Vaughn began heatedly. "You, a terrorist in our eyes, came to my country, looking for a CIA Agent you should never have known in the first place – you don't get to ask questions and expect the truth. In this room you answer to me, and I'll give you some free advice – right now you should be glad it's just me that you're dealing with because there are people, that I know personally, who would be glad to tear you limb from limb to get the information that they want" he watched with satisfaction as Peter's demeanour changed from anger to shock to respect. Peter was not used to being challenged. Instead of getting annoyed or violent, he did what he thought best in the situation. He laughed. And was secretly pleased to see Vaughn's startled expression at his unexpected response "what's so funny?" he bit out.  
  
His laughter died down to a chuckle. "She said I would like you" he announced. "Okay, I will tell you what you want to know" Peter's voice grew serious again "and then I must know where she is."  
  
**PIER**  
  
Through the black night Jack was unable to see the waves of the sea as it rose up against the legs of the pier to wet the wood and darken it, there was no moon and looking out across the ocean he couldn't see much of anything. He could hear the water splashing though as it rushed forward and up, and the noise was soothing and it calmed him quite well. Apart from him and a couple of kids near the carousal on skateboards, the pier was blessedly deserted. He tried to simmer his anger, the last thing he wanted was to arrive at Sydney's place with a face like thunder and looking like he wanted to argue, she wouldn't be able to cope with another Bristow battle at this point – not that he was looking to blame her for this. He knew who was really to blame, the Covenant, but at the moment they weren't there for him to get mad at, to put it lightly. Though that would change soon enough. The last time his wife had died he had retreated into himself and this time he swore that would not happen, true Sydney could probably deal with it better this time as she was older – or maybe not considering the circumstances surrounding Irina's death, he couldn't retreat again though. He refused to allow himself to do that. His own mind was one thing he could control.  
  
The last time he had eventually found out that Irina was actually still alive, but this time there was no such news coming his way, and Jack found himself wanting there to be. He was angry at the Covenant, at Rambaldi and his blasted works, at Sloane, at himself for not realising that he had not, if ever, been communicating with Irina, and angry at her to for leaving again in the first place. For not telling him that she was in trouble, if she even knew. It made him laugh that if she turned up and told him she had known he was liable to strangle her for putting her family through his, as much as hug her. But Jack Bristow was a very thorough man, he would find someway to certify her death was real, maybe the Covenant had screwed up her memories by way of adding false ones a well as the rest.  
  
He looked at his watch and was surprised at how the time had flown. His stomach nearly lurched at the thought of how he would console Sydney. He pushed away from the rail, the place he had come all those years before, the first time. Jack turned back to the exit, where his car was parked. The kids had gone, and he was alone, again.  
  
**SYDNEY'S RESIDENCE**  
  
Sydney was growing anxious, she had called her father but as with Vaughn's phone ten minutes earlier, there was no answer. Against her judgement she had called Will, had been split between calling him and keeping him out of this. He would hear about it eventually and would berate her later for keeping it from him. She pushed the curtain aside and peered out to watch the road, the coffee was left mostly full, it was ice cold now. She was about to move away from the window to do something, anything else when she heard a car pull up outside the house. It came to a stop in the driveway and she strode to the door in three quick steps where she threw open the door. Jack shut the car door and looked up when he heard Sydney; he stood almost uncomfortably, wanting to know her state of mind before he did anything. She shortened the gap between them and flung her arms around him, her lips pursed as she tried to stop crying again. Her breathing came out in a strangled gasp as she tried to even it out, the lump in her throat felt like it was growing, and it hurt, ached. Jack hugged her, relaxing and he spoke soothingly. Her pain was paramount to his.  
  
"I'll take care of everything, sweetheart" he told her softly.  
  
She sniffed, wiped her sleeve across her eyes. "How do you take care of something like this, dad?" her voice almost broke again, like it had on the phone. "This isn't a situation where you can seek retribution by finding the bad guy" Sydney pulled back and looked him in the eyes, searching for answers. "This time the bad guy is me --."  
  
He interrupted her, had to make her understand she could not blame herself, torture herself. "You cannot believe that, the Covenant is behind this..."  
  
"But what if they just helped me follow through with something I already wanted to do" Sydney spoke quieter now, aware that even though the neighbourhood appeared to be asleep, someone could be listening, whether they understood the conversation or not was beside the point. She moved back towards the wide open door, her arms crossed. "It's no secret how I felt about her when she first came back into our lives...yes, things changed later on but once she escaped CIA custody I felt the same as I used to. I shot her in the arm then..."  
  
"That was only a disabling wound" he added. Jack took her arm gently and led her back to the house, closed the door behind them and out of habit checked all was quiet outside via the window, as Sydney had minutes before him.  
  
"What if all the Covenant did was help me do something that, unconsciously, I already wanted" she tuned around once in the living room to face him "that would make me no better than them" it was her fear, that she would turn into the very people that she chased and tracked for a living.  
  
"Sydney, you are nothing like them" Jack hastened to correct her "remember that" she sat down on the couch, not knowing what to think then, tiredness overwhelmed her.  
  
He saw the cup and picked it up, intending on making another when the doorbell rang, instinctively his hand moved to his gun. Not that an intruder would ring the bell, Sydney stood though and walked to the door without speaking and he assumed it was Vaughn coming back. "Thanks for coming" Jack heard her say as he walked into the kitchen.  
  
Will stepped over the threshold and drew her into a hug; his light blue eyes radiated concern. "This is probably the stupidest question in history but, how are you holding up?"  
  
Sydney smiled weakly, she was glad she could hide what she was really feeling from people that weren't used to probing below the exterior. "I'm better...better than I was."  
  
Will shut the door after him. "Do you need me to get something? A drink or something to eat?" he questioned her and walked her to the couch. Sydney had lost count of the amount of times she had got up and down in the last hour.  
  
"I'm good. I think my dad is making coffee" she replied and both of them in sync turned to the left to see Jack moving around in the kitchen, she knew he could hear them but was staying in the other room to give them some privacy.  
  
His eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, your dad is here? Uh, do you want me to leave?"  
  
It was Jack that responded as he stood quietly in the doorway. "The coffee's almost done. I should go" he made to move across the living room when Sydney rose and blocked his way.  
  
"You don't have to" her hopeful face reminded him of when she was six, when he had left to go on a 'business trip' she had stood in his path outside the house to block his way to the car, had told him not to go. But he had ignored her and so started his avoidance of what had happened. "It isn't just me that's affected by this" she was going to say more when he cut her off.  
  
He smiled slightly. "Okay" he agreed, accepting her offer.  
  
Will moved from foot to foot, now he was the one feeling a little like a third wheel, the odd one out, the crowd to the company of two. "You know what I'll go..."  
  
"None of us have to go Mr. Tippin" Jack assured him. Truth was, if he couldn't help Sydney, he knew he could count on Will to do what he was unable to.  
  
The kettle whistled signalling it had finished boiling. "I'll get it" Will used the coffee to excuse himself; he sensed he had come at a bit of a bad time. After what they had just found out he knew they must have a ton to talk about.  
  
**LAX**  
  
"I knew that Sydney had come back here, I have people that I called from time to time that keep tabs on things..." Peter said. They had been talking for half an hour, passing along tiny bits of information, not too much but enough to keep going, a little bit at a time.  
  
Coffee had been brought in a few minutes earlier and Vaughn picked up the Styrofoam cup and put it to his lips after replying. "I know you won't give me any names...at least not yet, but tell me this: Why exactly are you here?" It was what they had been building up to, Intel, small talk, and then the more important stuff.  
  
"Recently – more than that actually, I haven't been able to contact her mother. A few days ago I went to her home in Italy...there was barely anything left, it was an explosion certainly," he explained.  
  
"Does Sydney know you've spoken to Irina?" this was definitely a bit of interesting news. Maybe Peter could be convinced to give them a little something on her, tell the CIA what she had been up to since her escape.  
  
Peter nodded. "Yes, of course, she too kept in contact with her mother. It became increasingly more difficult to communicate with her directly. Security became very tight after Ashford's death. That was when Sydney first saw her mother again. The Covenant where furious when they heard he had been killed, not that they ever found answers" he laughed. "But now" he added somberly "Irina has disappeared off the face of the Earth. It's why I came here; I was hoping Sydney knew what had happened to her."


	7. Trust

**Chapter Six**

* * *

**LOS ANGELES**

**SYDNEY'S RESIDENCE**

Before Sydney could protest Peter's arms enveloped her in a hug; they stayed in that position for a few seconds before the young Agent pulled back, seeing the annoyance in Vaughn's face as she looked over the German's shoulder. The welcoming was obviously familiar to him, something that they probably did whenever they used to meet up back in the 'Covenant days'. But to her, now, it seemed like a foreign action with him. She didn't know this man anymore. There wasn't even an inkling of familiarity. Sensing her discomfort Peter nodded and took a step back, she needed a bit of space and that was understandable. After putting a call into Dixon and rerouting it to airport security Jack had finally been able to do what his daughter had previously been unable to, and contact Vaughn to give him an update.

Dixon had given authorization to give Peter a cliff noted version of what had happened to the younger Bristow. They hoped that with what Peter knew and what little Sydney had found out in the last week or so they could actually find some answers. Being around Peter could also serve to help her remember a few things that could help the investigation. They were also hoping that Peter would become comfortable enough to spill a few secrets he may have been keeping close to the chest back at the airport. All in all it would take patience and time; they were all short on both.

"I will help you find your mother" Peter swore. He sounded so honest and sincere that it was almost easy to believe he could do just that. It would probably be easier to find an amateur street magician that was able to pull a rabbit out of a hat. And make it talk.

Instead Sydney simply smiled and replied. "I hope so."

As Peter had come to them and did appear to be cooperative so far, if one dismissed the prodding Vaughn had to do at the start of the interrogation back at LAX, he was not deemed a flight risk. Dixon was keeping the 'informant' in Jack and Dixon's capable hands. The stoic double agent ushered the small group of Sydney, Vaughn and Michael back inside the house. Will was still there and had crashed in the spare bedroom half an hour earlier. Someone was going to have to sleep on the couch and possibly the floor, the latter depended on whether Jack decided to stay also. He closed the door behind them and locked it, meeting Sydney's eyes for a moment Sydney got the distinct impression that her father wanted to speak with her in private but with all the current guests that was going to be difficult; especially when the two new arrivals wanted to be updated properly on the new developments.

Sydney nodded almost imperceptibly, letting her father know that his unspoken message had gotten through. Turning away from him she headed into the kitchen to start up another round of coffee. Jack stayed on the outskirts of the room to take note of Peter. His tan had gone now to leave the pale tone of somebody that had been out of the sun for quite some time, he took note of the unfamiliar territory out of grey eyes behind perfectly circular light brown glasses, the colour was chipped at the side through too much handling and not enough of being looked after. He had changed into a simple white tee and faded black jeans to better accommodate the warm climate of Los Angeles. He could easily have passed as a local, once he got his tan back. Jack got the unusual feeling that he could trust him. But then he had once thought that about Arvin Sloane and that had changed pretty quickly once he found out the truth about him.

Until Peter did anything to either solidify the trust or jeopardize it, Jack would reserve judgement. Until then he would find out as much as possible.

Sydney came back into the room and set down four mugs of coffee then sank wearily into one of the chairs. "So..." she began, not quite knowing how to start this. "How do you know about me?" she almost but not quite blurted out. To be truthful Sydney was getting tired of the hesitancy surrounding the subject of what had gone on when she was at the Covenant. Here was a man that could possibly help her and she wasn't going to wait around any longer.

Peter settled back on the couch, one arm stretched lazily across the arm. Whether he had forgotten about the other men or was just that comfortable in Sydney's company they weren't sure. After a few seconds of quiet contemplation he began. Despite his tall and toned stature he had a rather soft voice and even from a few feet away she strained to hear him. His voice belied what he could actually be like if he became angry enough. "Ah," a smirk traced his face "you were quite guarded at first. For a long time I was just your contact and sometime supplier. It remained that way for many months. I knew you were not truly a Covenant Agent." The smile slowly left his face. "Ashford found out about you though I swear I did not tell him my suspicions. He is, was rather, a paranoid snake anyway. More so when you came along. I used to think sometimes you fueled that part of him on purpose to frustrate him. Even if that was not the case I admit I did it as often as I could --."

Thinking that the slightly older man was about to become lost in his memories Vaughn prompted him, "so what happened exactly after Ashford found out the truth?"

Snapping back to the present Peter resumed control of the conversation. "Yes, I was saying...Ashford did not know the exact truth about Sydney's identity; rather he instead knew she was deceiving her employers when she said she was a faithful Agent. However much he did know he was dangerous. Unfortunately when he did make his move I was out of the country but I know many people and one in particular was very concerned when I called and explained that your life was in immediate danger." Again he stopped, something he had a tendency to do. It was not a thing he did to annoy it was just a habit. He always spoke as though there were no rush and time was not a problem for him. "I get ahead of myself though and I think this is something you would want to know..."

_"How would you like to obtain your goal quicker than you thought you could?" Peter took off his orange sunglasses and slipped them in the pocket of the black leather coat he wore and regarded the woman in front of him with a curious look. He made a motion with his hand to told her he would very much like to know where she was going with this particular line of questioning. She obliged gladly though it did not show on her face. "Your place within the Covenant at this time can not help you gather sufficient information to bring them down. However they -- found, a new Agent that, given enough time, will be able to help you. She will want the same thing you do."_

_He nodded, interested. "Okay Irina you have me wanting to know more."_

_"At this time their new Agent is still gaining their trust. She has been with them, I believe, for a few months now but they have good reason for keeping a close eye on her. In a week they will send her on a new mission, the details of which you will be told by the Covenant. You will be her contact. They've used you enough times that they trust you, they will ask you for a report on her."_

_"They would want a simple contact to give them information on one of their own?" his confusion was evident._

_"For now, yes. They need to know they can trust her enough to give her more of a free rein, something they've wanted to do. You give them a good and clean report of her activities and she has the freedom she needs to carry out her investigation of them. Once you've built up a rapport with her, told her what you want, she will trust you and, I hope share what she knows which will help you."_

_Peter sighed and rubbed his eyes. The day had been long and all he wanted to do was fall asleep and not wake up for a good ten hours, at least. And then Irina had contacted him with this tantalizing proposal. "You seem very sure of what she will do."_

_"...Yes, I do. I'm not just doing this to help you. This is personal" he saw her eyes harden, knew this was serious. "The Agent is Julia Thorne but she went by another name. Julia is an Alias the Covenant gave her, her real identity is Sydney Bristow."_

_There was a sharp intake of breath on Peter's part. The connection to Irina was simple to make, he knew who Jack Bristow was and that must mean that Sydney was her daughter._

"Hold on a minute" Jack interjected, "she just told you who Sydney really was?"

Peter's head snapped up. "Yes" he sounded indignant. "She trusts me. She knew I would tell no one the truth," and he added loyally "she would never disclose information of this kind to anybody."

Jack nodded. He knew that. He was angry though; she knew all this and she never told him. It hurt. He wanted a reason why she never gave him the information he needed to get Sydney out of the Covenant.

"Go on" Sydney coaxed. She seemed to be like a child at that moment that was hooked on a bedtime story, needing to know more. Everything even.

_"You can help her. You know most of the safeguards the Covenant has in place and how to get around them. What you know can help Sydney stay alive."_

_"I will do what you ask. Not just to help myself but to repay the debt I should have repaid a long time ago" Peter answered solemnly. He took the thin folder that Irina held out for him but didn't open it yet but would do so as soon as he got back to the comfort of his own home._

_She looked up at him thankfully. "There is no debt" Irina reminded him._

_He waved his hand in a dismissive fashion. "There is to me."_

"It is how I came to know about you, Sydney. I know you will have answers, some that I cannot answer. I don't know how she came to know you were in the Covenants slimy hands. Irina has many contacts and I suspect one of them gave her the information she sought. He omitted any explanation about the debt. Sydney had known once, before her loss of memory. It was private and now known again only to him. If Sydney remembered he thought that with it would come the knowledge that she should tell nobody.

"Why didn't she contact my dad and tell him what she knew? Why did she keep it a secret?" Sydney asked what she just knew her father would want to know. Jack shot her what could be perceived as a grateful look.

"When she found out your location it was too late. Your father" he craned his neck to the right to speak directly to the man they were talking about. "Agent Bristow, you had just been taken into prison. The timing was most unfortunate of course but it could not be helped. Rather than wait for a time that you were released she thought it better to act straight away."

Jack seemed pleased with the answer, relieved almost. Instead of replying on that topic he returned to the previous one, "Ashford."

"Yes. As I was saying earlier Ashford found out that you were not to be trusted. Instead of reporting it the, fortunately for us, stupid man took matters into his own hands. Wanted to look like some kind of hero to the Covenant" Peter rolled his eyes. "I contacted Irina and told her that Ashford was closing in on you" at this he nodded in Sydney's direction. "She knew if she just killed him there would be questions that needed to be answering, an investigation into what he was doing. So Irina saved you herself and made it look as if she had killed him. The spotlight was taken off you, Sydney, and they began hunting her. As much of a weasel as Ashford was he was a weasel they needed."

Tears glistened in Sydney's eyes but they didn't fall. She was through with crying, tears solved nothing. "Why didn't she just tell me what she was up to to start with?"

Peter answered softly. "She told me how she left you the last time. You were confused with her motives for things she did. Irina did not think you would trust her. If you wouldn't trust her then there was no hope for you trusting me. Would you have believed her?"

Shaking her head sadly Sydney admitted that no, she would have thought it to be all lies. More lies.

"And they chose me to kill her."

"I do not believe you could do that. In there was intense therapy to make you think you were Covenant Agent Julia Thorne and that did not help, you still knew who you truly were. The only way they could make you kill your mother would be to make you go through it all again -- they would have no reason to do so because by then they trusted you implicitly. There is no logical reason for you to kill your mother" he shook his head, refusing to believe in the possibility of that happening.

But it still didn't bring them any closer to finding out where she was.

Only Jack had that solution. "Sydney, I need to talk to you" he didn't need to add 'in private' Vaughn and Peter got the point.

* * *

**Thank you for being so patient waiting for this This is a bit of an exposition chapter, okay a lot of one. I hope you still find it good. Like in shows this point has to come where questions are answered and that point has been reached here.  
**


	8. Proof

**Chapter Eight**

* * *

**LOS ANGELES**

**THE DOCKS**

From within his black Government Issue car, Jack intently watched an innocuous red SUV as it pulled up ten feet from his position. The windows on the other vehicle were shaded and so made it impossible for the seasoned agent to identify the driver or anyone else that could be hidden inside. It made Jack feel like he was on show, he could quite plainly be seen; something that Jack did not like. The Irina pretender had agreed to meet him at the docks; it was early morning now, the clock on the dash read four am. He rubbed his eyes, had not slept for numerous hours now, he pushed the tiredness away. Once this job was done he would sleep, not a minute before. The dockworkers had not arrived and would not do so until six am. He had plenty of time. The surroundings were silent, calm; the only sound he could hear was his own breathing. The dull buildings on either side loomed over the two small cars and partially blocked the slowly rising sun. As he waited he wondered why the imposter had agreed to the meeting; perhaps it was his insistence, or they were just stupid -- that would make his work easier, it would be simple and quick to draw out the much needed information that he sought. It was possible that this person was just highly arrogant and thought they could capture him.

The headlights on the vehicle opposite his flashed twice, indicating it was clear for each of them to immerge from their cars. Jack did so and slammed the door shut behind him. He gave the effect that nothing was amiss -- that he was as clueless as he had been a few hours ago. There was nothing in his body language that told he wanted nothing more than to strange the imposter to within an inch of their pitiful lives. His hands were in his pockets, unseen and clenched tightly.

On the roof a man watched the slow proceedings carefully, aiming at the car, a camera beside him.

The door to the SUV opened. Jack moved forward a few steps, into the sun; he squinted as bright glare obscured his view momentarily.

The so far unseen man swore softly and quickly picked up the camera to snap a couple of pictures, photographic proof of what he was seeing but not quite understanding. His eyes shifted from one person to the other, "oh shit."

**5 HRS EARLIER**

**LOS ANGELES**

**SYDNEY'S RESIDENCE**

Vaughn and Peter moved off into the kitchen with the now empty coffee cups; presently the sound of running water was heard as they set about washing up everything in the sink, doing everything to block out the low voices in the next room. Her arms folded, Sydney looked up at her father expectantly. "What is it?" she sounded hopeful, thinking he must have found something out. She quelled that hope. The last thing she wanted was to be disappointed once again.

"Before I came here --."

He stopped abruptly as he heard a door opening. "Sorry," seeing the two sets of slightly frustrated eyes turn to him a sleepy Will paused in mid step, looking like a deer caught in headlights. His hair was rumbled, evidently he had just woken up, he yawned as he added apologetically "I'll be in…" he pointed in the general direction of the kitchen before heading that way. A few seconds later they heard him speak again, sounding puzzled, "I'm not supposed to know you, am I?" apparently he had just met the new arrival, Peter.

Sydney shook her head, smirking, she couldn't be mad at him for having bad timing. Switching her attention back to her father she waited for him to continue, "Go on."

"As I was saying; before I came here I was contacted by whoever's masquerading as your mother," instead of flittering around the subject, he did what he did best and got straight to the point. "The imposter agreed to meet, In a few hours time" too many times he had kept his daughter in the dark about certain things, in this instance however Jack had come to the conclusion that she should know. It was her Intel that gave him reason to suspect Irina in the first place. But he was adamant that he would not tell her where the meet was to take place, he knew she would be angry about that decision but Jack was not going to take the chance that she would charge on in and try to take matters into her own hands, as some kind of revenge on her part. He thought she would know better than to do that, to be so reckless and jeopardize things but, when considering who her parents were and what they were capable of, he was taking no chances.

"I'm coming" Sydney insisted, as Jack had predicted she would.

He steadfastly refused. "You will speak with Peter and find out anything else you can about Irina or the Covenant. He's holding back, I want to know what exactly."

Challenging him she glared, pain fueled her anger. "You can't do this!" she understood his reasoning, or at least she thought she did. Sometimes though it seemed her father needlessly complicated things and, in her opinion, this was one of those times. "I need to be there" Sydney used another tact, pleading to the side of Jack that was making him act so quickly and, possibly, irrationally himself. "They used me! They killed my mother; I have to be there when you take them down. You can't do this alone. Dad, please."

It was a good try and Jack was pleased to note she said "they" in relation to Irina's death. He was not to be taken in so easily though; he knew how hard it must be for her to be blocked out of this. She would realise soon enough why he had to do it. He did not want Sydney to be there when he took care of the imposter. "I am doing this, Sydney," he told her gently, trying not to sound too authorative. She opened her mouth to protest further. "I don't want to make it an order but if I have to, I will. Stay here and I will take care of this."

Still furious she answered, seething. "Dixon would not authorize this, he would make you take back up."

Jack mused for a moment as he heard that, that it sounded as if she were threatening to go over his head should he still disallow her to accompany him. He decided to call her bluff and responded without a flicker of what he was thinking appearing outwardly. "He already has, Sydney" he lied, and hated it. It was impossible for Jack to know what might happen a few hours from now when CIA Agent and Imposter set eyes on each other, though he knew that his daughter could take perfectly good care of herself he did not want her to have to deal with the repercussions of what would happen should anything happen to him. It was better that she be kept, mostly, in the dark. "He wants this dealt with as quickly as possible. Find out what you can from Peter, I'll contact you as soon as this is over." That said he walked away.

As soon as the three men conversing in the kitchen had heard the front door close they had, one by one, come back into the living room. It was obvious from the annoyed, indignant look on Sydney's face that Jack had said something to upset her. She looked at Vaughn, accusingly. "Did you know about this?"

Honestly having no clue what on Earth she was talking about he answered in the way any man in his confused position would. "What?"

"He's meeting with whoever's been posing as my mom today. He didn't specify a time or place; he only told me that it's happening. And he told me not to get involved!" she blasted. Outside they heard Jack pulling out of the driveway, leaving to "put an end to things" in his own way. They could try to follow him but he would notice and lose them, probably lead them on a wild goose chase first.

A phone rang and Will excused himself to answer his cell, as he wandered back into the kitchen they heard the one sided conversation and saw him look at his watch.

"Jack didn't tell me anything, Sydney. I have no idea what he's planning," he told her truthfully.

Before she could respond to either rant some more or apologise Will returned, shoving his phone into the front pocket of his jeans. "That was Amy" he looked a little uncomfortable, thoughtful. "She uh…needs my help looking for her dog. He ran off when some sales guy called by earlier, she opened the door and he was gone before she could catch him."

"Need some help?" Sydney offered, "The more people looking the quicker we'll find him.

Will waved away the offer. "It's fine, you've got enough to worry about without this too." He picked up his coat from the rack by the door and put it on as he stepped outside. "See you guys later."

"Perhaps it is just because I do not know him well…but that seemed strange," Peter observed, speaking up from where he was sat in the living room.

Walking to the phone Sydney agreed. Yeah, it did."

**LOS ANGELES**

_**HOTEL ROOSEVELT**_

_It was a Saturday and the spacious lobby of the four star hotel was rather busy; full of tourists coming and going, hot and bothered, brimming with excitement, tired and sick of waiting, children stood impatiently and jumping from one foot to the other in barely contained anticipation of what would be a warm and wonderful week or two. The harassed men and women behind the shiny counter smiled at all times, staying pleasant and helpful, courteous and calm. Clocks showing the time in main cities around the world ticked slowly 1 second, 2 seconds, and 3 seconds. Jack glanced from one to the other and then, barely perceptibly glanced down at his own watch. He was sat at the small bar by the winding stairs that led down to the shop, swimming pool and back door where the valets waited to park or bring cars to the well paying customers of the hotel. Nobody noticed him as he sipped a murky coloured beverage, making it last, the bar tender was too busy chatting in the back room to ask questions of the quiet man that had been sitting in the same spot for the last half an hour. He swiveled in his chair to take note of the people coming out of the elevators by the stairs that led up to the rooms. His eyes stopped on the mirror; he recalled that rumor had it that the face of some famous actress could be seen in there sometimes, but he forgot whom exactly. The face that did interest him was the woman whose reflection he could see now._

_He looked back to the bar, knowing that she would come to him, as it had been the last two times they had met here. "You're late" he said by way of greeting as he sensed rather than saw, her come to a stop just behind his left shoulder._

_Irina sat down on the chair beside him. "I'm not late, you set your watch five minutes fast. Though I was here before you anyway" she replied. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him check the time on his watch, it was just visible below his sleeve. "You don't look like a tourist" she chided playfully and pushed her sunglasses back on her head._

_Taking the bait he asked, "What do I look like?"_

_"A man who means business" the bartender chose that moment to interrupt and Irina ordered a drink, telling the thirty something brunette to put it on "the gentleman's" tab._

_Beside her Jack sighed but inside Irina knew he was smiling. "You don't have your own money?" he questioned, feigning annoyance._

_"Plenty. But it's more polite for the man to buy the lady the first drink" and then adding, as she picked up the glass the bar tender set down on the coaster in front of her, "I could be making you buy me dinner."_

_"Whose to say I haven't already arranged it?" Jack responded; his tone was lighter. His words had the desired effect as she looked, and didn't bother to hide, faint surprise. He stood up and put on the freshly cleaned bar the money, plus a tip. Irina followed him as he led the way into the restaurant, it was slowly emptying as the patrons were, mostly, finished with their lunch. He took a table near the back, out of the way of the other people. His mask was back in place, as he watched Irina take the seat opposite him he saw she was the same. It was an act, of course, just in case somebody had followed, or tried to follow them. It was friendly, if a little teasing, banter that made them appear to be two people merely having a fun time. There was nothing behind what they said. No hidden meaning or ignored feelings. They were there for one thing._

_Irina brought it up first. "What else have you found out?" she had brought the drink with her and, leaning forward with elbows on the table, the wafer thin glass was cradled between her hand, one finger absently tracing the rim._

_"Nothing…" Jack answered regretfully. "I have reason to believe I may be getting closer. It's just a matter of time," he sounded dejected, at least in that respect he and Irina were feeling the same._

_"I have people searching but…wherever she is…whoever has her…they are being extremely careful" she stated the obvious, it was worse not knowing who exactly they were up against, only then could they begin to try and understand why Sydney had been taken._

_Jack cleared his throat, it sounded like he was at some kind of get together and was about to make a speech. That thought brought a smile to her face, as she remembered their wedding so long ago. His expression this time was most definitely not the same. Irina studied his face, noting the changes. He looked chagrined at the sudden scrutiny. "What?"_

_"I was just remembering our wedding" the quietly spoken truth threw him for a moment, even more so because it was completely out of the blue._

_"Now isn't the time for reminiscing on old memories that were only created to help solidify an elaborate lie" Jack retorted sharply, gruffly and quite annoyed._

_Completely unruffled Irina just shrugged. "It wasn't a lie for me."_

_They had gotten completely off topic, how had she done that? He tried to determine why she had suddenly gotten into this territory, what motive was behind it. He could find none._

**LOS ANGELES**

**THE DOCKS**

The memory had slipped unbidden into Jack's mind and he forced it away, back into the recesses that it had come from. He stepped out of the sunlight and into the shadow of one of the buildings; the darkness helped him to see the incoming figure a lot better. He was now a short six feet from the driver of the red SUV, he stared, uncomprehending for a few seconds. The Imposters lips moved but he could not hear the words; he realised they were whispering ever so quietly. He read the Imposters lips.

"I'm sorry."

**LOS ANGELES**

**JTF BUILDING**

"I'm sorry! Okay? I was as surprised as you are when I realised it was Jack that was calling me" Will stressed, trying to get that across. "What was I supposed to do? He's Jack Bristow, have you tried saying no to him?" remembering it B was /B Sydney he was talking to he shook his hand as if waving away the last few words "never mind. Syd, I didn't want to lie I swear but he made me promise not to say anything to you" he ran his hands through his hair; he looked freaked out. "He said he couldn't ask Vaughn because he was supposed to be watching Peter and he didn't want you involved. He just told me to watch things from a safe distance and photograph everything. That way if something went wrong there would be pictures of the Covenant Agent involved."

Sydney decided to ease his distressed mind. It truly wasn't his fault. "It's okay…I…are you sure?"

Will nodded. "Pretty sure, I mean, I've seen the a couple of pictures the CIA has and they look the same. Marshall's got the photo now…"

They both headed into Marshall's little office, the genius himself was sat at his desk staring intently at the computer. When he realised he had visitors he made to jump up to accommodate them, blow up an inflatable chair or offer sweets. He looked nervous, fidgety. "Uh I think you might want, well no I guess because you're here you do want to know what I have, what I came up with, and while you're here I just want to say, uh, I'm sorry about everything that's happened you know, first your mom dying only…and then your dad…well anyway, I uh, here…" he pointed to the computer screen.

One of the photographs Will had taken from the rooftop had been blown up. The image was pretty clear. Sydney moved back from the desk and abruptly left the room.

"Thanks man" Will spoke up before leaving after his best friend.

Marshall looked back at the screen. "Oh boy…this is bad" that just about said it all.


	9. Bitterness

**Chapter Nine**

* * *

**UNDISCLOSED LOCATION**

An unconscious Jack had been plonked unceremoniously onto a hard pallet at the back of his cell an hour earlier; the sedative he had been given had ensured he would not be waking for a while. His captors had been told he would not allow himself to be taken without a fight. Indeed, that had proven true, even as he had started to succumb to the drugs effects he had leveled a cold, hard and steely gave as each and every one of them, right up until the last second when his eyelids drooped shut and his head lolled to the side. But most of all he had scrutinized the woman that he had met him at the docks; the one he was certain now had lured him to her. All a pretense.

As Jack started to come around the one thought above all others kept him going _the bitch was going to pay_ he silently vowed to himself venomously.

For the first five minutes or so after he woke he remained still, his eyes tight shut. He wanted to get a feel for his current location, hear what he could, as he allowed his senses to recoup. As it was he did not gain very much information. Though he could feel someone watching him, and he knew with solid certainty who it was; his blood boiled. Further away the sound of a door closing traveled to him and then two people conversing; though he could not discern anything. Eventually he knew he would have to open his eyes and face the person he most wanted to lash out at, but he was holding off. Slowly however he did open his eyes, firstly staying in his current vertical position to check the roof of his cell for surveillance equipment. He saw none.

He took shot of his surroundings; the walls and ceiling were white, sterile like a hospital. Jack turned his head to the left and noticed a see through partition that appeared to be glass, seperated his cell from the next. The floor, instead of being hard and cold, stone or concrete, was, to his surprise, carpeted; and in the same colour as the rest of the place. The temperature was also comfortable.

It was inevitable that he would have to face the occupant of the other cell; and so, with a hard and determined demeanor, he locked gazes with his wife.

She was standing also, directly behind the partition, her arms crossed behind her back. She watched him with that intense gaze he knew so well. As Jack rose into a seating position he realised his own hands were bound in front of him. The two of them stayed that way for a short time, neither hiding the fact that they were, in essence, checking each other out. Both had long ceased to be coy.

At last Jack stood and in three small strides was inches from her, the moments leading up to the broken silence were intense, as things always tended to be with Jack and Irina.

A cold smile graced his lips before he utter his firsts words to her; his tone was even and held none of the bitterness he felt. "You fooled me again, Irina. For a few hours I actually considered avenging your death," he laughed harshly. "And here I am, speaking to you." He leant in closer; his breath clouded the glass. "Next time stay dead." He had grieved for her, watched helplessly as Sydney blamed herself and cried the loss of her mother a second time. The murderous feeling that had gripped him before learning 'the truth' was now aimed unwavering at one person, and she was standing right in front of him.

Irina, for her part, did not seem moved by his cutting words. She wore a mask of calm indifference, her head tilted to one side and she appeared only curious. It infuriated him. In side however, his comments bit at her, caused her heart to plummet and the nauseous feeling she had developed at the beginning of all this returned. Why did everything have to be so difficult? She knew he spoke out of pain, betrayal and anger; but Jack did not know the truth. By the looks of things he would not believe anything she had to say for now. "You don't have all the facts, Jack. When you do everything will become clear," Irina told him, remaining soft-spoken. "Then you will not feel this way."

His eyes narrowed and he spat out, "do not presume to know how I will feel."

"I know you," Irina pointed out. She truly was not trying to goad him, but it appeared he did not think so.

He eyed her tauntingly. "You think you know me? Perhaps at one time you did, but now I can honestly say. With absolute certainty, that I hate you." He said it so easily it was hard to believe he spoke the truth. But it was all in the eyes.

The only sign that he had affected her in any way was the minute tensing of her jaw, the way she drew her head up. Irina recovered quickly, which was no less than he expected. "You have said that before – and then came Panama," she retorted, and appeared thoughtful, "those were not the actions of a man filled with hate."

Jack simply scoffed, an eyebrow quirked. "Well everybody needs a release sometimes, Irina. It was a choice of one nights meaningless sex or shooting you. At the time I believed the former would be slightly more pleasurable," he answered callously.

Irina did not miss a beat; though inside she was debating whether to screw him or strangle him. She was divided evenly between the two for now. "Well you could have hired a local prostitute," she suggested as though the thought did not bring a stirring of jealousy.

"I was going to but decided there really was no difference," he paused as if contemplating that. "Except you were completely free, of course." Was that a pang of guilt that hit him then? He quelled it fiercely, pushing it back into the part of him that sought to hide things he made himself believed he regretted.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted; whatever the motives behind it." She ran her tongue over bottom lip, thinking.

Jack was partially disappointed there had been no other reaction. He peered passed her into the cell she was currently stood in, deliberately avoiding looking at the woman in front of him. It was identical to his own; it did beg the question of why exactly Irina was imprisoned in the first place. "Have a disagreement with your employers?"

She followed his line of sight to cast a glance about her 'room'. Irina was suddenly hesitant, reluctant to speak though she did so after a brief interval, and leant a tiny bit closer to the glass. "They were never my employers," she told him a second before grimacing and rapidly bringing her hand up to clutch the nape of her neck as though experiencing a sudden onset of pain.

A flash of worry flittered across his face even as he sought to appear impartial. But, in that instance his stoic façade was already broken. And, he realised, so was Irina's. She let out a shaky breath, and then caught his concern. There was no satisfaction at discovering his deeply hidden secret though. "What just happened?"

Irina rubbed the spot at the back of her neck where she had felt all too keenly, the mild electric shock. "A gift from the Covenant," she answered dryly.

**LOS ANGELES**

Sydney, Vaughn, Marshall, Will, Dixon and Peter were all seated around the table in the briefing room. The ex-reporter fiddled anxiously with the pen in front of him as he waited for the impromptu meeting to begin. He blamed himself for Jack's disappearance; if he had just gone against Jack's orders and told Sydney the truth a proper team could have been set up in time to ensure his safety and he would not have been taken. He looked at each of the people sitting gravely in the room; he settled lastly on Sydney. She was sat ramrod straight in her chair; her hands rested on the table in front pf her. She was putting on a front for them he knew that. There was no way this could not have affected her. Only hours before she had been crying her eyes out.

Now she looked mad, the anger was bubbling just below the surface. She had been lied to. Again. Only this time it was worse. The sadness and guilt at killing her own mother had been overwhelming; the bulk of emotions had shaken her. And now that same woman that had caused it had double-crossed her so maliciously. Needless to say Sydney was severely pissed.

"As you know a few hours ago we received confirmation that Irina Derevko is in fact alive and working for the Covenant," Dixon started the briefing.

Peter who replied vehemently interrupted him. "Irina would **never** work for the Covenant. **Never**." All eyes turned on the German informant; Sydney was interested in what he had to say. He was her only link to her mother; to the hope that she had not turned."

"Peter…You know that I want that to be true…but she led my father into a trap! She shot him and helped the Covenant agents take him away," Sydney answered despairingly.

But Peter would not be budged from his opinion. "She will have her reasons, good reasons. She would not do this willingly."

"Well so far we have nothing to go on," Dixon pointed out. He glanced at Sydney sympathetically out of the corner of his eyes. She was fixated on the picture Will had taken; the imagine that showed her mother aiming at her father. "Any more information you can give might be helpful."

Peter nodded in understanding. "I know people, maybe they can offer assistance."

Sydney tore her gaze away from the photograph and spoke, resolute. "I want to under again; if Peter can't help my memories might."

Sydney was waiting impatiently in the chair she had become so familiar with the past week; the Doctor, the same one present in previous sessions, was preparing to start. Vaughn was stood beside the young agent, holding her hands in a comforting gesture. He was apprehensive though and voiced his concern, "are you sure you're ready for this again so soon? You don't need me to remind you what happened the last time."

"I know…but I have to try. I can't sit by and do nothing," she breathed in deeply, preparing herself mentally for the task she had to undertake. Unlocking her memories was not easy. Not with the things that had happened to her. "Hey," she nudged him and smiled, "when this is all over we still have to tell my dad…"

"Ah," he grinned almost giddily. "I can't wait for B that /B conversation," Vaughn said, feigning enthusiasm.

"He'll be happy," Sydney nodded confidently. "Though just in case you should watch his reaction from a safe distance."

"Thank you…that's very encouraging," he joked.

The light banter was serving to make her feel better and, in Vaughn's opinion, she did look better. They both ceased conversation as the Doctor interrupted. "Ready?"

"I'll be right there," Vaughn told her and let go of her hand to walk into the small room where the Doctor was also going to be, conducting the session.

And with his departure the sense of foreboding returned. Sydney answered with steely resolve. "I'm ready."


End file.
